Shipping container



Nov. 3, 1953 P. F. PAUL ET AL 2,657,849 SHIPPING CONTAINER Fi led March 10, 1950 2 sheets-sheet 1 INVENTORSf K pH/up f. AuL 2,1 By Laws 025 412.:

A TTORNE Y Nov. 3, 1953 P. F. PAUL ETAL SHIPPING CONTAINER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 10, 1950 INVENTORS. pH/L/P E flnz/L. Lou/s 01mm.

E'W WM A TTOQRNE Y Patented Nov. 3, 1953 Philip F.- Paul,

North Hollywood; and 7 Louis oLearygLosAngeles, Califl, assign'orsi to The Patent and Licensing Corporation; New York, N. Y.', a corporation of Massachusetts Application' March 10, 1950, Serial No. 148,968

1' Claim.

This invention relates to containers and more particularly to a fiberboard container of the open ment of a variety of commodities.

In the packing and shipment of certain commodities, such for example, as hands of bananas, it is desirable that. the container be of the open top type. With such open top containers the problem of stacking loaded containers during storageand shipment requires not only that the container have adequate vertical compressive strength and resistance to lateral collapse, but that it be constructed in such a way as to' prevent any superposed container in a stack from falling into the container immediatelytherebelow in the stack;

An object of the invention is toprovide a fiber-- board container suitable for use, as above stated, as an open top container and constructed to enable the containers to be stacked on one another without danger of an uppercontainer fallinginto a lower one in the stack.

Another object of the invention is to provide by reason of. the resultant truss effect.

The invention and the features and advanta es thereof will be more clearlyunderstood from the accompanying drawings, in which:

' Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a container embodying the, invention Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view, in perspective, showing one end of the container, with one of'the parts. removed from position;

Fi 3 is a. fragmentary detailed view, partly in section, of one end of the container;

Fig.\ 4. is a plan-view of. a blank for forming, the 'end walls of the container shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a blank for forming the bottom andside walls, thereof.

The preferred formofcontainer embodying. the invention, may be made from corrugated fiberboard, or the like, and comprises a bottom l'l", side walls I3 and end walls IS.

The bottom II and side walls K! are each of I rectangular outline and are preferably formed integrally with one another from a single piece blank indicated generally by the numeral H in Fig. 5.

The end walls It are of trapezoidal outline, the side edges 20 thereof extending at equal angles with respect to the base 22, and the base 22 being of a length substantially equal to the width of the bottom Wall II. The upper ends of the walls Itare of a length approximately two inches less than that of the lower ends thereof.

of considerably less width than the bottom 1 I, so that when stacked one on another the bottom of one container overhangs the side walls of the container therebeneath. In this manner, an upper container is prevented from falling into the one below it in the stack and causing not only disruption of the stack but damage to the contents of the lower container.

To insure further against any such occurrence, the end walls l6 are each provided with a hinged integral extension 26, which may be folded at right angles to the end walls, to provide a relatively narrow platform at each end of the container. As will be noted, these platforms are supported by the upper edges of the side walls. this position they constitute additional bearing surface at each end of the container for a superposed container in a stack. The platforms 26 are secured in that position by a hinged flap 30 integral with each platform and inserted in transversely aligned slots 33, 35 formed along the upper edges of the side walls l3. The platforms 26 and flaps 30 are each of a length substantially equal to that of the bottom edge of the end walls so as to extend a substantial distance laterally in opposite directions beyond the upper edges of the side walls. It will be noted that when platforms 26 are brought from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 1 wherein they rest upon the upper edges of the side walls and wherein the flaps 30 are held within slots 33, 35, a truss effect is obtained which contributes greatly to the vertical compressive strength at the vertical corners of the container.

Hand holes 36 are formed in each of the end walls l6 by partially cutting a flap 38, left connected to the end walls along the upper edge of holes. The hand holes 36 are positioned at a distance below the upper edges of the end walls such that when the fingers of ones hand are extended through the holes, the hand will grip around the platforms 26.

We claim:

An open-top, fiberboard shipping container for bananas and like commodities, comprising a rectangular bottom portion, inwardly inclined rectangular longitudinal side walls integral with said bottom portion, a pair of end wall members having side edges inclined inwardly and upwardly, said bottom portion and said longitudinal side walls having inwardly turned flaps on their end edges and said flaps being secured to the marginal portions of the said end walls to provide a container having a rectangular open top of substantially lesser area than the area of said rectangular bottom portion, and integral extensions on the upper edges of said end walls bent inwardly to overlie the free upper edges of the longitudinal side walls in a plane parallel to the plane of the said bottom portion, said integral extensions extending laterally outwardly substantially beyond the upper ends of said side walls, the upper edges of said side walls being provided with downwardly-extending transverselyaligned slots adjacent each end wall and said integral extensions having downwardly-extending integral flaps received in said aligned slots of the side walls.

PHILIP F. PAUL. LOUIS OLEARY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 785,102 Hougland Mar. 21, 1905 1,622,525 Lemon Mar. 29, 1927 1,743,702 Boeye Jan. 14, 1930 1,826,197 Adams Oct. 6, 1931 1,934,983 Lane Nov. 14, 1933 2,122,654 Nickerson July 5, 1938 2,192,412 Reaume Mar. 5, 1940 2,235,800 Daly Mar. 18, 1941 2,292,573 Kondoli Aug. 11, 1942 2,321,536 Wells June 8, 1943 2,460,870 Bruckhauser Feb. 8, 1949 2,511,189 Woodward June 13, 1950 2,537,318 Scoble Jan. 9, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 13,070 Netherlands May 15, 1925 

